February 2020 - comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20@icann.org

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] (no subject)
by Milo Battaglia Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Rising the prices of .com domains could stifle online business and make getting a website more difficult for local or small companies.

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Mukesh Kumar Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I am a domainer (I invest in domain names as a business). I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains. Thanks and regards Mukesh Kumar Delhi(india) 9717926840

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Do not raise price for .com
by Michael Chan Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Please stop the madness Sent from my iPhone

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Nelson.D Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I am a domainer (I invest in domain names as a business). I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains. No one other than Verisign want increases in .COM prices. The current rate of $7.85 is already far more than justified. Verisign is merely your manager of the .COM Registry – it has no business dictating the price. ICANN is supposed to govern the domain name system in the public interest. nelson delarosa tampa

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Do not support the .com price increase
by Raj Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I have been using and registering .com domains and any increase in prices will hurt my business. I DO NOT support this move and don't really see any need to necessarily increase the price. ICANN should keep the common minimum program in mind before taking decisions. Regards, Raj M India

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Wink Saville Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I am a registrant of a .com domain name. I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains. I believe this will force competition, I hope you know what you're doing. Wink Saville Soquel

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Please STOP the increase
by Fred Martins Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

ICANN and Verisign made these changes in secret, without consulting or incorporating feedback from the ICANN community or Internet users. Although ICANN has a history of making similar deals behind closed doors, and also of ignoring unified opposition against such action <https://www.namecheap.com/blog/ensuring-icann-keep-domain-prices-in-check/>, Namecheap will continue to lead the fight against price increases that will harm our customers and the Internet as a whole. (For more information about Namecheap’s efforts to maintain domain name price controls, visit pricecaps.org <http://pricecaps.org/>.) The changes to the .COM agreement will have a much bigger impact on the Internet than the previous action for .ORG, .INFO, and .BIZ domains, due to the dominance of .COM. There are 359.8 million total domain names, of which 144 million are .COM — that’s 40% of all domain names. With 161.8 million country-specific TLDs (ccTLDs), there are 198 million generic TLDs (gTLDs). That means that .COM makes up 73% of all gTLD domain names. ICANN was created in part to introduce competition between domain name registrars, but now ICANN itself is at the heart of the problem, without considering any input from Internet users on these critical decisions. There are four main concerns with ICANN’s decision: 1. Price Increases Verisign will be allowed to increase the wholesale price to registrars for .COM domains by 7% each year in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. After a two year “freeze”, Verisign can increase prices by 7% annually during 2026-2029, then another two year “freeze”. This cycle will continue, meaning that within 10 years, .COM domains could cost approximately 70% more than the current wholesale price of $7.85 — and the sky is the limit. It is not clear how much of these price increases registrars will pass along to consumers, but it is likely that most of these increases will be paid by domain name registrants. The contract does allow for other price increases for certain extraordinary situations, so it is possible prices could increase more than anticipated. 2. ICANN Will Receive an Extra $20 Million With the contract changes, Verisign agreed to pay ICANN an additional $20 million dollars over five years to support ICANN’s initiatives regarding the security and stability of the domain name system. There is no explanation why Verisign did this, how ICANN will spend the money, or who will ensure that the funds are properly spent. 3. Verisign Can Operate as a Domain Registrar ICANN also had rules that the operator of a TLD could not operate a domain name registrar. Although in 2012 ICANN allowed operators of new gTLDs to have domain name registrars, it did not apply to Verisign. The new contract will allow Verisign to operate its own registrar, except for selling .COM domain names itself. To circumvent this, it is also possible that Verisign could act as a reseller of .COM domains, through another registrar. This result is that the company that controls almost 80% of the registrar pricing for domain names will compete directly with all domain registrars, maximizing its control of domain name pricing to the detriment of other competing registrars. While this might result in lower prices to consumers, fewer registrars will harm competition, choice, and domain name services. Verisign’s registrar could also use its dominant position to charge higher prices to consumers, while at the same time raising registrar prices. 4. ICANN Ignored Previous Comments As detailed on Standing Up to ICANN to Keep Domain Prices in Check <https://www.namecheap.com/blog/ensuring-icann-keep-domain-prices-in-check/> and pricecaps.org <http://pricecaps.org/>, over 3,500 comments were submitted in support of price controls for the .ORG, .INFO, and .BIZ TLDs. Only six comments supported removing price controls. ICANN discounted the comments that were in favor of maintaining price caps. A number of the comments were submitted using an online tool, which caused the comments to be discounted as “spam” by the ICANN Ombudsman. ICANN removed the price caps, primarily relying upon a biased preliminary analysis from 2009 by an economics professor that did not reference any data.

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] I Vote Nay!
by Alan Poletti Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Please do not allow one large company (VeriSign) to monopolize the .COM TLD. Too much is at stake here for everyone owning one of these domains; I myself own a .COM domain that I use for personal purposes. If this amendment were to pass, it could increase the cost of this domain that I have had for years to a point that is prohibitively expensive. It was hard enough to get it and I rather would not lose it as much of my network infrastructure is based on it. However, although my personal use of my domain may be of little consequence to the debate, I am sure that small businesses around the country whose budgets are already stretched may be severely impacted by this. From my understanding, we are not talking about a few dollars increase, but several hundred percent. This must not be allowed to happen, I implore you! -- Alan Poletti

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] I Don't want the .COM Price to increase
by FELECIA BUCKNER Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Hi ICANN committee, I am a .COM website owner and I don't want my Domain price to increase or to continue to increase with the hosting company that I am with. I have become aware that Verisign and ICANN are in agreement to raise the prices on wholesale registars for .COM Domains every year for 8 out of the next 10 years along with increasing other prices. I am not in favor of this. This additional cost will be passed down to the consumer, making it much too expensive, less desirable and eventually less accessible to own a .COM Domain name. Please reconsider your position and think about the consumer. Fair Domain prices will attract more consumers not alienate them. Thanks for listening

1 0

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Really not ok!
by Steven Jetton Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Hello icann, Count my voice among those not in agreement or ok with your secret decisions about .com registries price increases. not cool, Steven Jetton

1 0